Meghan was working on animated series for Netflix two years before quitting royal family

The Duchess of Sussex had been working on her animated series for Netflix two years before stepping back from official duties with Prince Harry.

Meghan had been in discussions about the project as early as 2018 when she was still a working royal.

The news comes after the Duke of Sussex and Meghan told Oprah Winfrey they "didn't have a plan" when they quit their roles in 2020.

Harry and Meghan told Oprah deals with both Netflix and Spotify were "never part of the plan".

The Duke said, "We didn't have a plan. That was suggested by somebody else by the point of where my family literally cut me off financially, and I had to afford security for us."

He added, "We hadn't thought about it... there were all sorts of different options. And, look, from my perspective, all I needed was enough money to be able to pay for security to keep my family safe."

READ MORE: David Furnish breaks his silence on working with Meghan Markle on new Netflix project

Harry and Meghan's team say any discussions with Netflix dating back to 2018 were exclusively about the Pearl project, the Telegraph UK reports.

The series was originally just one of many "one-off creative advocacy projects" presented to Meghan as a working royal.

Pearl was announced last week and focuses on the "heroic adventures" of a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by a variety of influential women from history.

In a statement Meghan said, "Like many girls her age, our heroine Pearl is on a journey of self-discovery as she tries to overcome life's daily challenges".

The show – which is still in production – was announced last week as part of Harry and Meghan's multi-year deal with Netflix, which was signed in September 2020.

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Meghan is an executive producer of the show, along with Elton John's husband David Furnish.

John and Furnish are long-time friends of Harry and Meghan and were guests at their 2018 wedding.

They later paid for the couple to travel via private jet to their mansion in the south of France, when Harry was being criticised for using private flights while campaigning to save the environment.

Last week Furnish commented about working with Meghan, hinting the project had been on the cards for some time, writing on his Instagram that he was "finally able to announce this exciting animated series".

During their interview with Oprah Harry said multi-million-dollar deals with streaming services were "never the intention" but that their hands were forced when they were cut off financially from the royal family.